The Portland daily press., 1887-07-06
ACCIDENT AT FARMlNcoaLE.
TWO Maine Central Trains Meet in
Collision.
Engineer Leavitt Severely Injure,
and Others Badly Shaken Up.
Different Stories Regarding the Ac-
cident-The Accounts.

Especial TO the Press.l
GARDINER, July 5.-An accident occurred
at the Farmingdale crossing at 3.15 o'clock
today, which came very near resulting in Sc
rious loss of life and the destruction Of two
passenger trains. The Farmingdale siding,
so called, is second track extending for up
wards of a mile. the upper end being at
Rich's ice houses. and nearly two miles be-
low Hallowell. Here, since the summer ar
rangement of trains, "Jewetts" No. Is,
down, and the local passenger train. No. 49,
up. have passed. Jewett's has run upon the
siding, while the other train passed No. 16
today was made up of baggage car, one
smoker and one frst-class passenger car
The veteran and trusty John Jewett was
conductor, c. p. Bracket engineer, and
Charles Getchell fireman The other train
was made up Of mail car, baggage and
smoker, and four passenger cars. 1t was Of
icered by w. Sprague. conductor, James
Leavitt engineer, and Ira +. Bessey fireman.
Both the trains were ON time today. Jewett
as usual, had run to about three rods from
the end of the siding, while the switch was
turned. Hardly had stop been made when
No. 10 came bowling forward at the rate of
twenty miles an hour, and without any APP
parent cessation of speed crashed into No.
16. This was exactly opposite Rich's upper
houses, and steep bank was on the land
side. Jewett's train was pushed back all of
hundred feet by the blow. and the kissing
OF escaping steam added to the din. All was
confusion for few moments among the pas
sengers of the two trains. All were aware
from the severity Of the shock, that an acci-
dent had occurred. Several ladies were hy-
sterical. The worst shock was received by
Jewett's passengers. Those standing up
were thrown end over end.
Conductor Jewett who was on his feet in
car in the act Of conversing with friend,
was pitched violently over and qaite serious
ly injured. He received severe scalp
wound and Lbruises ON one leg so that he
limped perceptibly. One Of his passengers,
a Mrs. Hinckley of Gardiner, was thrown
againsta seat with terrific force being in
jured internally. The engineer after rever-
sing engine and the fireman jumped to the
ground and escaped uninjured On the other
train the engineer was not SO fortunate. He
reversed bis machine, and applied the air
brakes and leaped from his cab, following
his fireman who was uninjused. lie slroek
with such force that he was rendered insensi-
BILE and was carried to the bank groaning
As good luck would have it Dr. II. H. Hill
of Augusta, one of the most skilled physi-
Clans In the State, was aboard Of No. 10, and
he attended the injured man, giving him a
hyperdermic injection Of morphine and
bathing his head in cold water. A little later
on the man was taken to a house close by
where he recovered consciousness iu about
an hour, afterwards going to his home in
Wateryille on the special train The other
injured ones were also attended to by the
doctor. DR.. Giddings was sent for and ar
rived so as to assist the Augusta physician.
The other passengers ON the train with the
exception of Mrs. Foote Of Hallowell, who
was slightly cut on the head, escaped with
out injury other than light bruises and a
thorough shaking up.
The locomotives and cars adjacent were
badly damaged. The cow-eatcher and
spark arresters of the former were crushed
into flinders and the cylinder heads nearly
touched so close was the fierce embrace. The
trucks beneath the tenders ware more or
less disarranged, and some of the wheels un-
der both left the rails The mail car was
the worst spectacle. The end of the tender
next to it went bodily through the end of
the car carrying the end wall and door be-
fore it and demolished it. Five postal clerks
were in the car but fortunately for them
they were not in the forward end and were
not hurt to speak of. The rear trucks of the
tender were stripped off and forced forward
beneath the car. The other end Of the mail
car was forced against the baggage car with
such force that the platforms Of both were
crushed and rendered useless. Jewett's
baggage car also suffered r. black eye on
the end next the tender. More of the
cars left the track, however, and
engines being telegraphed for special trains
were made up from these coaches. The pas
sengers were transferred and carried on
towards their respective destinations. Con-
ductor John Jewett continued on with his
his people to Portland. Conductor Sprague
went to Gardiner. The failure Of the air
brakes to work on Sprague's train is said by
the trainmen to have been the cause of the
disaster. Jewett's train had the right Of
way for fifteen minutes after reaching the
siding, and he certainly was not at fault.
No. 10 has no business TO have moved to the
upper end of the crossing until Jewett had
been passed. Engineer Leavitt applied the
air brake, and said after gaining conscious
ness that it did not work and could not stop
his train.
Others on the train say that the train was
moving very rapidly, and it could not have
been stopped even if the brakes had been all
right 1t was also reported that the brakes
were all right, and reduced the speed as soon
as applied. The accounts of the passengers
are conflicting, The loss will probably
reach $S0OO The locomotives can be repaired
without any very heavy expense.
At $50 o'clock a wrecking train from Wa
terville arrived, and a large crew of men at
once began the work of clearing the track.
At 10 o'clock they succeeded in opening the
blockade, and the evening train from Port
land passed up. The afternoon express
from Bangor, after reaching Augusta, turned
abont and went to Portland by the back
route. The escape from a more serious acct
dent was very fortunate, and that no lives
were lost is a wonder Mr. Leayitt, at last
accounts, was doing WELL and his physicians
think he will recover